George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

for some 45 years.

Life and work

Bridgman was born in 1864 in the

United Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Re ...

. In his youth, Bridgman studied the arts under painter and sculptor

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris, and later with

Gustave Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger (25 April 1824 – 22 September 1888) was a French figurative painter and academic artist and teacher known for his Classical and Orientalist subjects. Education and career The Néo-Grecs and the Prix de Rom ...

. For most of his life Bridgman lived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he taught

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

figure drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and Human positions, postures, using any of the drawing Drawing#Media, media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representatio ...

at the

(from 1898 until 1900, and then 1903 until October 1943). His successor at Art Students League was Robert Beverly Hale. Bridgman had also taught classes at the

Grand Central School of Art The Grand Central School of Art was an American art school in New York City, founded in 1922 by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark and John Singer Sargent. It closed in 1944. History The school was established and run by the Gra ...

and at the

American Bank Note Company American Banknote Corporation (parent to American Bank Note Company), trading as ABCorp, is an American corporation providing contract manufacturing and related services to the authentication, payment and secure access business sectors. ABCo ...

. Bridgman used box forms to represent the major masses of the figure (head, thorax, and pelvis) which he would tie together with gestural lines and produce to create "wedges" or simplified interconnecting forms of the body. He had been a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

Notable students

Among his many thousands of students was

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

; in his autobiography, ''My Adventures as an Illustrator'' (1960), Rockwell spoke highly of Bridgman. Roughly 70,000 students studied with Bridgman in his many years teaching, notable artists include:

McClelland Barclay McClelland Barclay (1891 – 18 July 1943) was an Americans, American illustrator. By the age of 21, Barclay's work had been published in ''The Saturday Evening Post'', ''Ladies' Home Journal'', and ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan''. He wa ...

, Emily Newton Barto,

C. C. Beall Cecil Calvert Beall (1892–1970) was an American commercial art, commercial illustrator and portrait painter. He did watercolor art and drawings for magazines and comic books. Beall designed posters for the United States government for war loan ...

Gifford Beal Gifford Beal (January 24, 1879 – February 5, 1956) was an American painter, watercolorist, printmaker and muralist. Early life Born in New York City, Gifford Beal was the youngest son in a family of six surviving children. His oldest brother ...

, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Blake, Rosina Cox Boardman, Bessie Callender, Dane Chanase, Richard V. Culter,

Chon Day Chauncey Addison "Chon" Day (April 6, 1907 – Jan 1, 2000) was an American cartoonist whose cartoons appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'', ''The New Yorker'' and other magazines. Born in Chatham, New Jersey, Day attended Lehigh University ...

, Joseph Delaney, Elsie Driggs, Eyre de Lanux, Helen Winslow Durkee,

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

, Edward McNeil Farmer, Elias Goldberg, Marion Greenwood, Robert Beverly Hale, Lorenzo Homar,

Clark Hulings Clark Hulings (November 20, 1922 – February 2, 2011) was an American realist painter. He was born in Florida and raised in New Jersey. Clark also lived in Spain, New York, Louisiana, and throughout Europe before settling in Santa Fe, New ...

, Louis Paul Jonas, Jack Kamen, Deane Keller,

Lee Krasner Lenore "Lee" Krasner (born Lena Krassner; October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984) was an American painter and visual artist active primarily in New York whose work has been associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. She received her ear ...

, Richard Lahey, Andrew Loomis,

Anita Malfatti Anita Catarina Malfatti (December 2, 1889 – November 6, 1964) is heralded as the first Brazilian artist to introduce European and American forms of Modernism to Brazil. Her solo exhibition in São Paulo, in 1917–1918, was controversial at t ...

Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 25, 1885 – January 31, 1966) was an American Sculpture, sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco in the United States, Art Deco movement. ...

, Frank McCarthy, Evelyn Metzger,

Earl Moran Earl Steffa Moran (December 8, 1893 – January 17, 1984) was an American pin-up photographer and glamor artist. Background Moran was born in December 1893 on Belle Plaine, Iowa, United States. His first instruction in art came under the ...

John Cullen Murphy John Cullen Murphy (May 3, 1919 – July 2, 2004) was an American illustrator best known for his three decades of work on the ''Prince Valiant'' comic strip. Early life and education Born in New York City, Murphy spent his childhood in Chicago a ...

, Kimon Nicolaïdes,

Corrado Parducci Corrado Giuseppe Parducci (March 10, 1900 – November 22, 1981) was an Italian-American architectural sculpture, sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early-20th century works. Early life and education Parducci was born to Giuli ...

Norman Raeben Norman Raeben (1901 – 12 December 1978) was an American painter. He also taught painting. Life He was born in the Russian Empire, the youngest of the six children, four girls and two boys, of Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem. Aleichem's most fam ...

, Frank J. Reilly, Joseph Emile Renier, Ulysses Ricci, Ernie Schroeder, Archie Boyd Teater, Allie Tennant,

John Vassos John Vassos (born John Plato Vassacopoulos; 23 October 1898 – 6 December 1985) whose career as an American industrial designer and artist helped define the shape of radio, television, broadcasting equipment, and computers for the Radio Corpor ...

, Franklin Brooke Voss, Edmund Ward,

Mahonri Young Mahonri Mackintosh Young (August 9, 1877 – November 2, 1957) was an American social realism, social-realist Sculpture, sculptor and artist. During his lengthy career, he created more than 320 sculptures, 590 oil paintings, 5,500 watercolors, ...

, and

William Zorach William Zorach (February 28, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the Arts in 1927. He was at the forefront of American artists embracing cubism. He is the husband of ...

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...

's sketchpad features work from Bridgman's books.

Death and legacy

Bridgman died on December 16, 1943, in

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, after suffering from an illness for a year. He was survived by his wife, Helene Leonora Bridgman (née Rupperstberg) and their three children. George Bridgman has 100 drawings in the public collection at the

Norman Rockwell Museum The Norman Rockwell Museum is an art museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States, dedicated to the art of Norman Rockwell. It is home to the world's largest collection of original Rockwell art. The museum also hosts traveling exhibition ...

Rescue of a Youth Fallen Overboard from a Fishing Boat

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * Many of Bridgman's books are available as reprints by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

References

External links

Drawings from George Bridgman's 1911 Art ClassArt Students League of New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgman, George 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters American autobiographers American instructional writers American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts 1864 births 1943 deaths American art educators Art Students League of New York faculty 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists Canadian emigrants to the United States